When Lezli Lewis opened Carving Rock Kitchen with fellow food artisan Shanda Simpson in September, she was overwhelmed by the response to the fully gluten-free micro bakery.
“So many people here [in Chattanooga] have been waiting so long for something like this,” she told me. “We would have people come in every day saying they hadn’t had a biscuit in two years.” Other customers, especially those with severe celiac disease, cried tears of relief and joy to be in a restaurant where anything they ordered would be safe to eat.
“We’ve had tons of regular customers that were in almost every day,” Lewis said, many of them pledging to continue supporting Carving Rock so the fledgling bakery could stay in business.
Unfortunately, despite the enthusiasm of its patrons, the bakery has had to temporarily close its doors. Severe and persistent plumbing issues at their Brainerd Road location has forced Lewis and her team to seek a new home for Chattanooga’s only dedicated gluten-free bakery less than two months after opening.
Due to the sudden move, the Carving Rock crew will need to purchase much of the equipment they’ll need to reopen at their next location, and they may also face renovation costs. In order to return as quickly as possible to serving the gooey cinnamon rolls, fluffy biscuits and chewy Bavarian pretzels that their misty-eyed customers adore, Lewis and Simpson have created a Kickstarter project.